E.ON, Clever to build EV charging network in Europe

FRANKFURT -- German energy group E.ON said it entered a strategic partnership with Denmark's Clever to build a network of ultra-fast charging stations for electric vehicles in Europe, raising the stakes in a hotly contested part of the power sector.

E.ON and Clever plan to build stations with a capacity of 150 to 350 kilowatts (kW), which can recharge cars with a range of 400 kilometers within 20 to 30 minutes.

The first of these stations will be deployed this year, E.ON said in a statement on Tuesday, adding the group, which operates more than 1,200 charging stations in Denmark, was also in talks with further potential partners.

European power firms are keen to be chosen as the suppliers of a car consortium -- consisting of BMW Group, Volkswagen Group, Ford Motor and Daimler -- to build a charging network in an attempt to break Tesla's sector dominance.

The consortium has already started talks with possible partners over plans to build about 400 next-generation charging stations in Europe.